Modular railing and related methods

ABSTRACT

A modular railing comprises a picket that may be coupled with a rail quickly and easily to allow a person to construct a railing quickly and easily. The railing comprises a rail having an interior chamber, a picket including a slot that is disposed in the interior chamber of the rail, and a locking element operable to couple the picket with the rail by causing at least one arm to protrude from the slot and positioning the arm such that the arm extends from the slot into the interior chamber. When extended into the interior chamber, the arm prevents the picket from leaving the rail&#39;s interior chamber by contacting a wall of the rail.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority from commonly owned U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/375,760, filed 26 Apr. 2002 and presently pending, titled COMPOSITE GUARD OR FENCE RAILING SYSTEM, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety; and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. ______ (attorney docket No. 1612-3-2), filed 2 Apr. 2003 and presently pending, titled COMPOSITE GUARD OR FENCE RAILING SYSTEM, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

[0002] Railings are typically used for a variety of useful reasons such as helping to prevent a ball, dog or person from leaving or entering an area. For example, a railing may be constructed across an edge of deck to help prevent a person on the deck from unintentionally falling over the deck's edge. Or, a railing may be constructed to confine a dog within a backyard of a home.

[0003] Railings are frequently designed and constructed on site because many railings are unique to the area that they will be located in. To design and construct a railing on site, a person typically first designs the structure of the railing, which includes the attachment of pickets to one or more rails—a main structural component that links the pickets together to form the railing—and then plans the construction. Next, the person obtains the materials he thinks he will need to construct the railing, for example, ten 2×4's, 7 feet long, 50 1×1's, 4 feet long, various hardware such as nails, screws and brackets or ties. Next the person obtains the tools he thinks he will need to complete the construction, for example, a power saw and drill, a nail gun and a hammer. Finally, the person constructs the railing according to the developed plan by cutting to size the various materials and assembling them together.

[0004] Unfortunately, designing and constructing railings on site can be expensive and time consuming. Designing a railing involves determining many issues that include the overall structure of the railing and how the components of the railing will be assembled together. This can often take as much time to accomplish as constructing the railing and thus generate significant labor costs. Furthermore, constructing the railing involves attaching many components of the designed railing together. For example, pickets are typically attached to a rail with nails, screws and/or nuts and bolts, which can be time consuming to complete, and thus generate significant labor costs. Because a significant amount of assembly involves attaching pickets to a rail, the number of pickets a railing includes can significantly affect the time spent constructing the railing.

[0005] To address these problems, some manufacturers have developed a modular railing that typically requires less time to construct. The manufacturer develops some railing designs and then mass produces the components of the railing. To allow a person to use the manufacturer's designed railing for a variety of applications, the manufacturers design the railings to be modular—the size and/or length of the railing may be easily modified by adding or subtracting components of the railing. Thus, a significant portion of the time spent constructing a modular railing on site typically includes time spent planning the railing's assembly and then constructing the railing; not designing the railing.

[0006] But, many of these modular railings may still require a significant amount of time to assemble on site. For example, attaching pickets of a railing to a rail of the railing may still require nails, screws, and/or nuts and bolts, and thus may still require a significant amount of labor to construct the railing.

SUMMARY

[0007] The present invention provides a modular railing comprising a picket that may be coupled with a rail quickly and easily to allow a person to construct a railing quickly and easily. The railing comprises a rail having an interior chamber, a picket including a slot that is disposed in the interior chamber of the rail, and a locking element operable to couple the picket with the rail by causing at least one arm to protrude from the slot and positioning the arm such that the arm extends from the slot into the interior chamber. When extended into the interior chamber, the arm prevents the picket from leaving the rail's interior chamber by contacting a wall of the rail. Thus, coupling a picket of the railing to a rail of the railing does not require more time consuming techniques such as nailing, screwing or threading a nut to a bolt. Consequently, a person can typically construct the railing more quickly and easily than a conventional railing.

[0008] In one aspect of the invention, the railing may comprise a locking element that inserts at least one arm into the slot of a picket and positions the arm such that the arm extends from the slot into the interior chamber. In one embodiment, the locking element may include the arm and may be inserted into each picket of the railing before the slot of each picket is inserted into the interior chamber of a rail.

[0009] In another aspect of the invention, the railing may comprise a locking bar that extends a substantial length of the rail and may be inserted into each slot of a respective many pickets. Thus, a single locking bar may couple many pickets with the rail.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0010]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a railing that incorporates a locking element to couple a picket with a rail, according to an embodiment of the invention.

[0011]FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view of the locking element, picket and rail in FIG. 1 prior to the locking element coupling the picket with the rail, according to an embodiment of the invention.

[0012]FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view of the locking element, picket and rail in FIG. 1, with the locking element coupling the picket with the rail, according to an embodiment of the invention.

[0013]FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the locking element and the picket in FIGS. 1, 2A and 2B.

[0014]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a railing that incorporates a locking bar to couple many pickets with a rail, according to another embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0015] The following discussion is presented to enable one skilled in the art to make and use the invention. Various modifications to the disclosed embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein.

[0016]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a railing 10 according to an embodiment of the invention. The railing 10 may be mounted to any desired structure (not shown) such as a wall of a building, a post and/or a floor of a building using conventional techniques. The railing 10 includes a top rail 12, a bottom rail 14 and pickets 16 coupled with the top and bottom rails 12 and 14. The railing 10 also includes a locking element 18 to couple a picket 16 with the top rail 12. With the locking element 18, a person may quickly and easily couple one or more pickets 16 with one or both of the rails 12 and 14.

[0017] Although the following discusses the coupling of a picket 16 with the top rail 12, each picket 16 may be similarly coupled to the top rail 12 and each picket 16 may be similarly coupled with the bottom rail 14. The rail 12 includes an interior chamber 20, and each picket 16 includes a slot 22 (two shown) that is disposed in the interior chamber 20 when the picket 16 is inserted into the rail 12 through the hole 24. In one embodiment, the locking element 18 (discussed in greater detail in conjunction with FIGS. 2A, 2B and 3) includes an arm 26 (two shown). To couple the picket 16 with the top rail 12, the locking element 18 inserts each arm 26 into the respective slot 22 and positions the arm 26 to extend from the slot 22 into the interior chamber 20. When at least one of the arms 26 extends into the interior chamber 20, the locking arm 26 prevents the picket 16 from leaving the interior chamber 20 by contacting the rail 12. Thus, a person does not have to use conventional fastening techniques such as a nail, screw, and/or nut and bolt to construct the railing 10. Consequently, a person may construct the railing 10 quickly.

[0018] The locking element 18 may be removably inserted into the picket 16 as shown and discussed in greater detail in conjunction with FIG. 3.; or not. If the locking element 18 is removably inserted into the picket 16, then, according to one embodiment, one may couple the pickets 16 with the rail 12 to construct the railing 10 as follows. First, one inserts the locking element 18 into an interior cavity 28 of the picket 16 so that each arm 26 extends through a respective slot 22. Next, one inserts the picket 16 into the interior chamber 20 through the hole 24 in the rail 12 until the arms 26 prevent further insertion. Next, one moves each arm 26 toward the other arm 26 to allow the picket 18 to be further inserted into the interior chamber 20. Next, one continues to insert the picket 18 into the interior chamber 18 until the slots 22 are disposed in the interior chamber 20 and the locking element 18 extends the arms 26 back through the slots 22. Now, when a person bumps the picket 16 or attempts to pull the picket 16 out of the rail 12, the arm 26 contacts the rail 12 to prevent the picket 16 from leaving the rail 12.

[0019] Still referring to FIG. 1, the railing 10 may be made from any desired material using any desired manufacturing technique. For example, the rails 12 and 14, and pickets 16 may be made from wood to provide a desired aesthetic value to the railing 10. Or, the railing 10 may be made from plastics and/or reinforced plastic composites, and formed via injection molding or pulltrusion to withstand an outdoor environment. Or, the railing 10 may be made of metal such as steel and/or aluminum to withstand substantial impacts from people, animals and/or things.

[0020] Other embodiments of the railing are contemplated. For example, the picket 16 may include an arm that may extend into the interior chamber 20 of the rail 12, much like a barb on a fishhook extends into a fishes mouth to keep the fish on the hook. The arm may be a portion of the picket's body that extends from the body, or the arm may be attached to the picket's body. If the arm is a portion of the picket's body, the locking element may be a spring generated by the elasticity of the material of the picket's body. If the arm is attached to the picket's body, the locking element may be a spring attached to the arm and the picket's body.

[0021] Still other embodiments of the railing 10 are contemplated. For example, the railing 10 may include a third rail between the top and bottom rails 12 and 14 to provide additional strength and stability to the railing 10. In such an embodiment, the third rail might include two holes to allow a picket 16 to extend through the third rail, and the picket 16 may be coupled to the third rail using the same coupling technique described herein.

[0022]FIGS. 2A and 2B are cross-sectional views of the coupling of the picket 16 in FIG. 1 with the rail 12 in FIG. 1, according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 2A shows the picket 16 and locking element 18 prior to the locking element coupling the picket 16 with the rail 12. FIG. 2B shows the locking element 18 coupling the picket 16 with the rail 12. The locking element 18 inserts the arms 26 into a respective slot 22 and positions the arms 26 to extend through the respective slot 22 to prevent the picket 16 from leaving the interior chamber 20. Because a respective locking bar 18 may couple each picket 16 with the rail 12, the railing 10 (FIG. 1) may include a top rail 12 and a bottom rail 14 (FIG. 1) that curve as desired. Thus, the railing 10 may form a circular corral for animals or follow the curvature of a winding footpath.

[0023] In one embodiment, the locking element 18 may include a body 30 made of elastic material such as plastic, rubber and/or metal to allow the locking element's shape to change when pressure is exerted on the locking element 18 and allow the locking element's shape to return to the locking element's original shape when the pressure is removed. For example, the body 30 may be “V” shaped and have a first end 32 from which a first arm 26 a extends, and a second end 34 from which a second arm 26 b extends.

[0024] Other embodiments of the locking element 18 are contemplated. For example, the locking element 18 may include fewer than or more than two arms 26 a and 26 b. Furthermore, the locking element 18 may include a body 30 having a middle from which an arm extends, and two ends that contact an interior wall of the picket to allow the body 30 to bias the arm in a position where the arm extends through the slot 22. In addition, the locking element 18 may include a mechanism or component to retract the arms 26 a and 26 b from the respective slots 22. This may be desirable to facilitate removal of the picket 16.

[0025] Still referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B, the rail 12 may help stabilize the picket 16 relative to the rail 12 located in the interior chamber 20. In one embodiment, the rail 12 may include a bottom wall 36 having two grooves 38 to receive the respective arms 26 a and 26 b, and a top wall 40 having two grooves 42. Each of the grooves 38 and 42 may be formed by an auxiliary wall 44 and 46, respectively, protruding from one of a respective main walls 48 and 50 of the bottom and top walls 36 and 40, respectively. When the picket 16 is coupled to the rail 12, the auxiliary walls 44 and bottom wall 36 confine the arms 26 a and 26 b, and the auxiliary walls 46 of the top wall 40 prevent the picket 16 from substantially rotating in the X direction. This may be desirable to provide additional strength and rigidity to the railing 10. Furthermore, the grooves 42 may serve the same function as the grooves 38 when the rail 12 is used as a bottom rail 14 (FIG. 1).

[0026] Other embodiments of the rail 12 are contemplated. For example, the rail 12 may include a bottom wall 36 without a groove into which the arms 26 a and 26 b extend when the locking element 18 couples the picket 16 with the rail 12. Furthermore, the cross-sectional shape of the rail 12 may be any shape desired, such as a rectangle or oval.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 2A, in one embodiment, when the picket 16 is located in the interior chamber 20 but before the locking element 18 couples the picket 16 with the rail 12, the main wall 48 of the bottom wall 36 prevents the arms 26 a and 24 b from extending through the respective slots 22 in the picket 16. Then, as shown in FIG. 2B, in one embodiment, when the picket 16 is further inserted into the interior chamber 20, the arms 26 a and 26 b pass the main wall 48, and the body 30 may move each arm 26 a and 26 b away from a longitudinal axis 52 of the picket 16. Thus, the body 30 may position each arm 26 a and 26 b to extend through the respective slot 22. Once extended through the slots 22, the arms 26 a and 26 b prevent the picket 16 from leaving the interior chamber 20 by contacting the main wall 48.

[0028]FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a locking element 18 and a picket 16 in FIGS. 1, 2A and 2B. The locking element 18 includes the elastically bendable body 30 and is shown in the locking element's original shape, i.e., without any pressure exerted on the body 30 to move the arms 26 a and 26 b toward each other.

[0029] In one embodiment, the original shape may position the arms 26 a and 26 b a distance apart from each other, as measured from end 32 to end 34, that is greater than the outside diameter of the picket 16. Thus, when the arms 26 a and 26 b are extended through the respective slot 26, the body 30 continues to urge the arms 26 a and 26 b away from each other to help ensure that the arms 26 a and 26 b remain extended through the slot 26.

[0030] To insert the locking element 18 into the interior cavity 28 of the picket 16, one first moves the arms 26 a and 26 b far enough toward each other to allow one to insert the arms 26 a and 26 b into the interior cavity 28. Once the arms 26 a and 26 b are inside the interior cavity 28, one moves the locking element 18 to align each arm 26 a and 26 b with the respective slot 22. Once these are aligned, the body 30 inserts each arm 26 a and 26 b into the respective slot 22.

[0031]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a railing 54 that incorporates a locking bar 56, according to another embodiment of the invention. To couple the pickets 16 with the rail 12, the locking bar 56 extends through a slot 58 to prevent the picket 16 from leaving the interior chamber 20 of the rail 12 by contacting the rail 12. Even though the railing 54 includes two locking bars 56, the railing 54 may include one or more than two locking bars 56, and the pickets 16 may be appropriately modified to accommodate the number of locking bars 56. Thus, a person does not have to use conventional fastening techniques such as a nail, screw, and/or nut and bolt to construct the railing 54. Furthermore, with the locking bar 56, a person may couple more than one picket 16 with the rail 12. Consequently, a person may construct the railing 54 quickly.

[0032] To help keep the locking bar 56 extending through the slots 58 of the pickets 16 after each picket 16 has been coupled with the rail 12, the rail 12 includes a bar-retention element 60. In one embodiment, the locking bar 56 may be rectangularly shaped, and the bar-retention element 60 may include a groove 62 that receives the locking bar 56 and may be formed from an auxiliary wall 64 protruding from a main wall 66 of the bottom wall 68. The main wall 66 of the groove 62 may prevent the picket 16 from leaving the interior chamber 20 by contacting the locking bar 56 and the auxiliary wall 64 of the groove 62 may prevent the locking bar 56 from substantially rotating relative to the picket 16 when the locking bar 56 contacts the main wall 66.

[0033] Other embodiments of the locking bar 56 and bar-retention element 60 are contemplated. For example, the locking bar 56 may have an “L” shaped cross-section and the bar-retention element 60 may be a lip protruding from a wall of the rail. Or, the locking bar 56 may include a series of hooks protruding from a body and insertable into a slot of a respective picket 16.

[0034] Still referring to FIG. 4, the pickets 16 may be hollow and include an interior cavity 28 or they may be solid. A solid picket 16 may be desirable when the railing 54 is expected to withstand substantial impacts against the picket 16. With a solid picket 16, the slot 58 includes a wall (not shown) defining the perimeter (not shown) of the slot 58 and thus the picket 16 is better able to resist pressure exerted by the locking bar 56 without permanently deforming or failing. Thus a solid picket 16 adds structural stiffness and durability to the railing 54. A hollow picket 16 may be desirable when the weight of the picket 16 is a concern and/or the railing 54 is not expected to withstand substantial impacts against the picket 16. In one embodiment, the railing 54 may include hollow pickets 16 and a plug 70 disposed in each of the picket's interior cavity 28 to allow each picket 16 to obtain some of the solid picket's benefits. To allow the locking bar 56 to extend through the slot 58 of the picket 16 as designed, the plug 70 may include a slot 72 that receives a portion of the locking bar 56.

[0035] Still referring to FIG. 4, the rail 12 may help stabilize the picket 16 relative to the rail 12. In one embodiment, the rail 12 may include a top wall 74 having two grooves 76. The grooves 76 may be formed by an auxiliary wall 78 protruding from a main wall 80. As discussed in conjunction with FIGS. 2A and 2B, the auxiliary wall 78 may prevent the picket 16 from rotating in the X direction. This may be desirable to provide additional strength and rigidity to the railing 54. Furthermore each groove 76 may form an upper bar-retention element similar to the bar-retention element 60 and that may be used in conjunction with the bar-retention element 60 or when the rail 12 is used as a bottom rail 14 (FIG. 1) or a middle rail (not shown).

[0036] In one embodiment, to couple the pickets 16 with the rail 12, one first inserts each picket 16 into the interior chamber 20 of the rail 12 such that a slot 58 of each picket 16 is disposed within the interior chamber 20 and aligned with a groove 62. Next, one inserts the locking bar 56 into the groove 62 and moves the bar 56 toward a picket 16 to insert a portion of the bar 56 into the slot 58 of the picket 16. Then, one continues to move the bar 56 toward the next picket 16 to insert a portion of the bar 56 into the slot 58 of the next picket 16. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A railing comprising: a rail having an interior chamber; a picket including a slot disposed in the interior chamber of the rail; and a locking element operable to couple the picket with the rail by causing at least one arm to protrude from the slot and positioning the arm such that the arm extends from the slot into the interior chamber of the rail.
 2. The railing of claim 1 wherein the locking element is operable to remove the arm from the slot to release the picket from the rail.
 3. The railing of claim 1 wherein the arm contacts a wall of the rail to prevent the slot of the picket from leaving the interior chamber of the rail.
 4. The railing of claim 1 wherein: the picket includes a longitudinal axis, and the locking element moves the arm away from the longitudinal axis to insert the arm into the slot of the picket.
 5. The railing of claim 1 wherein the picket has an interior cavity and the locking element is disposed in the interior cavity.
 6. The railing of claim 5 wherein the locking element is removable from the interior cavity.
 7. The railing of claim 1 wherein the arm extends from an end of the locking element.
 8. The railing of claim 1 wherein the locking element includes an elastically bendable body operable to urge the arm into the slot of the picket when the arm is aligned with the slot.
 9. The railing of claim 1 wherein: the picket includes a first slot and a second slot, each disposed in the interior chamber of the rail, and the locking element includes a first end from which a first arm extends and a second end from which a second arm extends, wherein the locking element is operable to insert the first arm into the first slot and position the first arm such that the first arm extends through the first slot, and wherein the locking element is operable to insert the second arm into the second slot and position the second arm such that the second arm extends through the second slot.
 10. The railing of claim 1 wherein the locking element includes a “V” shaped body.
 11. A railing comprising: a rail having an interior chamber; a picket including a slot that is disposed in the interior chamber of the rail; and a locking bar operable to couple the picket with the rail by extending through the slot of the picket to prevent the picket from leaving the interior chamber of the rail.
 12. The railing of claim 11 wherein the locking bar releasably couples the picket with the rail.
 13. The railing of claim 11 wherein the locking bar contacts a wall of the rail to prevent the slot of the picket from leaving the interior chamber of the rail.
 14. The railing of claim 11 wherein the rail includes a bar-retention element operable to keep the locking bar extending through the slot of the picket.
 15. The railing of claim 14 wherein the bar-retention element includes an auxiliary wall operable to prevent rotation of the locking bar relative to the picket.
 16. The railing of claim 15 wherein the auxiliary wall protrudes from a main wall of a bottom wall of the rail.
 17. The railing of claim 11 wherein the locking bar has a rectangular shape.
 18. The railing of claim 11 wherein: the picket includes a first slot and a second slot, each disposed in the interior chamber of the rail, and the railing includes a first locking bar insertable into the first slot and a second locking bar insertable into the second slot.
 19. The railing of claim 11 further comprising a plug operable to structurally stiffen the portion of the picket disposed in the interior chamber of the rail.
 20. A method for coupling a picket with a rail comprising: inserting a picket into an interior chamber of a rail to locate a slot of the picket within the interior chamber; causing at least one arm to protrude from the slot; positioning the arm such that the arm extends from the slot into the interior chamber; and preventing the slot from leaving the interior chamber by contacting the rail with the arm.
 21. The method of claim 20 wherein causing the arm to protrude from the slot includes inserting, with a locking element, the arm into the slot when the arm is aligned with the slot.
 22. The method of claim 20 wherein positioning the arm includes urging, with a body of a locking element, the arm away from a longitudinal axis of the picket.
 23. The method of claim 20 further comprising: causing a second arm to protrude from a second slot of the picket that is also located within the interior chamber of the rail; positioning the second arm such that the second arm extends through the second slot; and preventing the second slot from leaving the interior chamber by contacting the rail with the second arm.
 24. A method for coupling a picket with a rail comprising: inserting a picket into an interior chamber of a rail to locate a slot of the picket within the interior chamber; inserting a locking bar into the slot; positioning the locking bar such that the locking bar extends through the slot; and preventing the slot from leaving the interior chamber by contacting the rail with the locking bar.
 25. The method of claim 24 wherein inserting the locking bar into the slot includes moving the locking bar along a wall of the rail.
 26. The method of claim 24 wherein positioning the locking bar includes preventing rotation of the locking bar relative to the picket with an auxiliary wall of the rail. 